Lacrosse Tip   | Tagged: Fundamental Skills

Presented by MacKenzie Lurch, Camp Director

Breaking In A New Stick

There are many different ways to break in a new stick. I feel as if there is an underlying rule that everyone follows: do not play a game with a brand-new stick. There are key components you want your stick to have. One, you want to have a large pocket for the ball to land in to keep it in your stick. Two, you want any mesh other than the wax mesh. Three, you want good shooting strings that guide the ball out of your stick when throwing. Some say the brighter the mesh you have the more it attracts the shooter to shoot into your stick. However, with dyed brighter mesh, it takes longer to break in.

Methods

There are many different methods of breaking in your stick. All of them take time, but each and every time you work at it, it progresses to becoming a better stick. One way to break your stick in is to bring it into the shower with you, and lather the mesh in conditioner while you knead a pocket into your mesh with a lacrosse ball. The conditioner and water soften the mesh to expand and stretch it out. A second way is to pound into the mesh with a glove or your hand to form a pocket. A third way is you can knead your mesh with a ball by rolling it around your stick with a lot of force, if it is not wet. Wet mesh breaks in the fastest, but when it dries you need to make sure you have something heavy drying in the pocket of the mesh so that it dries in the shape that you pounded out. A fourth way that is fast and quick is to find something that has a rounded top (like a fence or bedpost), take your stick, and beat the post to pound a pocket out.

Finishing it up

No matter which method you choose, you will have to repeat it a couple times. You can also play catch or wall ball to get used to the stick. This will let you figure out if there are any adjustments that would need to be made. At the end of the process you will have the best stick and the best game!

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